Article re: revamping VCE Australian History - The Age

[Joseph41]

The teaching of Australian history at VCE level is set for an overhaul next year in a bid to attract more students and turn around a decline in enrolments that teachers warn could make the subject unviable.

The new version of Australian history will replace the current study design – described by one expert as a “rollicking race through a lot of content” – with four deep dives into distinct themes, including Aboriginal land management, race and immigration, landmark environmental fights such as the Franklin Dam campaign and struggles for women’s equality.

Topics including the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and the frontier wars between First Australians and colonialists will also be given more exposure.

See full article at https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/making-it-sexy-teachers-hope-revamp-will-save-vce-australian-history-20210625-p5848d.html.

What do you think? Has anybody here studied Australian History, or considered it? What do you think would make it a more viable subject in terms of enrolments?

[K888]

This sounds really good! Modelling it on Revolutions is a good idea I think - I found Revs to be easily the most interesting and engaging subject I did in VCE. When I completed VCE, Australian History wasn't offered at my school but from what I knew of it, it was seen to be a very dry subject and I wouldn't have chosen it.

[OckTheOctopus]

History is already a second-preference subject for me in Humanities, so I was already considering putting it down for electives/eventual VCE if I had extra slots to fill.